With the cool fall weather turning into cold winter weather, we have spent many weekend days purchasing groceries, canning, and cooking. Early in the fall, we bought a half-bushel of apples and made apple butter and dried apple slices. Between the two recipes, we used the whole bag. It went so well that we decided to buy a second half-bushel and make some more apple items.

In hindsight, purchasing a second half-bushel may have been too much. We didn’t need to make more apple butter, as we already had many jars in our pantry. We made a couple batches of dried apple slices, but that only required a half dozen or so apples. No one in our house particularly enjoys apple sauce, and while we all enjoy apple pie and apple crisp, we would have had to made many to use all of the apples.

So, it became time to be creative with apples. The first new twist on apples was Apple Soup. Thankfully I have a husband who is open-minded and doesn’t hear the words apple and soup combined and decide immediately that this must be a joke or a horrible combination. The kids were more hesitant. Our 14 year old was suspicious but ended up finding it enjoyable. Our 12 year old on the other hand wasn’t as pleased, “I thought it would be puréed more” was her subtle way of expressing displeasure.

Of course, they’re kids, which means they’re bound to be more fickle. So, what did the two adults think? We loved it, me especially. Although I’m not a vegetarian, I have a love for all things made with fruit and veggies. This soup was a nice combination of those. If you prefer a soup without texture, you could purée it longer. However, I liked that there was a hint of texture to it, as it made you aware that you were eating a bowl of soup and not just sipping an apple flavored latté.